Four Themes for Discipleship and Dads in the Letter of 1 Peter, by Pastor Adam Anderson

I was recently asked to preach for Father’s Day and pondered many things
I could talk about, but I began to get puzzled over what text to preach. On the
one hand, there are a multitude of texts that could be explored that have
principles that every father should hear. On the other hand, I wanted to edify
the whole church, not just dads. After a couple days of considering several
different options…hmm, what to do…..something from the Pentateuch? A Psalm? A
Proverb? Perhaps something from Paul? Finally, I decided to go with 1 Peter. I
thought this would be a good option since I had already been immersed in this
letter for quite a while[1].
So, I began to walk myself through the process of breaking down the book into
manageable chunks looking for lines of thought that span the entire work.

After
many times of reading the letter through, I noticed four major themes that the
Apostle presents as he challenges his readers to a life of holiness[2].
The themes are Imitation, Opposition, Outreach, and Communion.

Imitation

The theme of imitation is explicitly
addressed five times throughout the letter (1:15; 2:21; 3:1,7; 4:1; 5:3b). After
the initial description of the saving action of God (1:1-2:10), every
subsequent description of Christ sets out the expectation that believers are to
emulate his ways. This is understood within the framework of the family/clan
terminology and priestly imagery that is touched on throughout the letter.[3]
The force of the exhortations to imitate Christ emerges when Peter describes his
character when he was slandered, abused, and insulted.

Imitation
comes across as an ‘echo’ of God’s character (if you will), reflecting his
holiness. Imitation is beyond mere ‘copycat’ behavior. Being a copycat can be
rather unbecoming since it could be done without purpose, or silliness, or even
mockery[4].
Nor is it ‘call-and-response’—which can be confused, abstract, or vague since
the ‘response’ may not correspond with the ‘call’. Instead, it is more like
‘signal-to-echo’ (to borrow from the world of music). The signal is the original
sound produced by the instrument and the echo is an exact duplicate of the sound.
Of course, we are not an exact duplicate of God, but insofar as we can imitate
the Lord in his holiness, we exhibit our relation to Him.

Opposition

The identity of believers is exhibited
through the good conduct from fearing God (reverent love) in every situation (1:17;
2:17). This is seen most dramatically against the backdrop of opposition. As
‘strangers and exiles’ (2:11), opposition is the atmosphere we live in, as
those who do not belong; outsiders. From this standpoint, my definition of opposition
would be, ‘Any words, attitudes, or actions that work to distort or destroy the
reputation of Christ and the Church’. In the setting of the original audience opposition
consists mostly in verbal abuse—slander, accusation, insults, threats, deceit,
etc.

Opposition comes from three sources: the surrounding culture, ourselves, and
satanic/spiritual adversity—the infamous trio of ‘the world, the flesh, and the
devil’ (cf. James 3:15). First, opposition from the surrounding culture came
from within the Graeco-Roman worldview of the 1st century where
Christians were accused of terrorism, atheism, cannibalism, immorality,
damaging trade and social progress, and insurrection (see 1:6; 2:12; 3:9,16;
4:4,12,14). In our culture, Christians are accused regularly of bigotry, hatred,
intolerance, anti-intellectualism, etc. Second, the opposition that comes from
ourselves is seen as originating from either a) the ignorance of our
pre-Christian experience passed down through ancestry (1:14,18)[5],
b) our tendency to retaliate out of frustration or anger (2:1; 3:9-11; 4:15),
or c) our tendency toward satisfying fleshly desires (4:2,3). Third, opposition
that comes from satanic activity(5:8) is perhaps the most
comprehensive. The description of Satan ‘prowling around like a roaring lion’
is a fearful image of the voracious appetite of a fierce and powerful beast
that is calculating the angle of attack upon its prey. This is the reality of
our situation as believers (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12)

The virtues Christians live by are not the common stock of “polite
society”. They are radically different because they spring from the sanctification
of the Holy Spirit, and reveal the covenantal status of God’s people, as of
‘sprinkling with Christ’s blood’ (1:2)[6].
They are theattitudes and actions that emulate Christ and reveal
the identity of the members of the New Covenant. The ethics of the Christian
are eschatological in nature, being of this time of fulfillment[7].
We might call them “eschatological ethics”. These ethics are the effect
of the Spirit’s work, promoting further maturity and growth to live in the
eschaton, while fostering believers’ joy in being like Christ, and for passing
on what we’ve learned to the next generation. Peter reaches backward to show
that these virtues have been lived out by God’s people in history, not just
from the time of Christ’s first advent. [8]

Outreach

Much of Peter’s concern has to do with the forward progress of the
gospel; about how to win people to Christ through gospel proclamation that is
authenticated by good conduct. This shows how Christianity is unique, distinct
from the surrounding pagan culture. This produces the twofold effect of drawing
out praise to God from non-believers (2:12; cf. Matt. 5:16), and to ‘silence
the ignorance of foolish people’ (2:15)

Peter makes reference to the gospel as “the good news” (1:12, 25), “the
word” (1:23; 2:8; 3:1), and the “gospel of God” (4:17). It is noteworthy to
observe that the gospel is not only the proclamation of the person and work of Christ,
but is also a command to be obeyed. Those who disobey the message of Christ
(perhaps a general reference to unregenerate Jews) are said to be those who
“stumble…..as they were destined to” (2:8). Non-believing husbands of Christian
wives have also been disobedient to the gospel message, but have hope by observing
the good conduct of their wives (3:1).

Communion

Finally, there are several
statements that fall into the category of communion with God (broadly
understood), mostly as references to prayer and reliance on the Lord through
the depths of trial and grief. It makes sense that if the opposition to the
church was primarily verbal, the references to communion are also verbal.
Notice the following statements directly referring to prayer: “call on Him as
Father” (1:17); “prayers” (3:7); “…bless” (3:9); “his ears are open to their
prayer” (3:12); “your prayers” (4:7); “casting all your anxieties on Him”
(5:7).

Other statements which remotely
orbit the theme of communion are as follows: “as you come to Him” (2:4) [perhaps
as in repentance and faith]; “to offer spiritual sacrifices” (2:5) [broad
enough to encompass anything of worship/devotion, specifically prayer]; “entrusting
Himself” (2:23) [here, Christ’s ‘entrusting’ is mentioned at a hinge-point in
the immediate context of being verbally abused with physical suffering]; “as an
appeal (or pledge) to God” (3:21) [here, the concept of baptism is somewhat
abstracted from the water ritual, as an ‘acted prayer’ grounded in Christ’s
saving work]; “entrust their souls” (4:19) [similar to the above, in the
context of physical suffering]

Summing
It Up

There is encouragement
for disciples and Dads in 1Peter. All that the Apostle says of what God has
done for us and in us, the way Peter describes our relationship to God as part
of a holy family and people, and all that we are called to say and do is sweet
nourishment for the soul. For Dads in particular, there is great encouragement that
is built into the position of fatherhood, as part of his ‘spiritual DNA’.

A man who is faithfully
fulfilling his role as a father is imitating God as a protector, provider,
teacher, and leader, and is “offering up spiritual sacrifices to God through
Jesus Christ”. These are good works of speaking and acting that “proclaim the excellencies
of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”. The patient
and sacrificial work of Christian Dads are works done ‘in the light’ (cf. John
3:21) that God sees as precious when they happen in the midst of opposition. The
faithful works of disciples and dads, when done with humility and respect, are
a gracious thing (2:19)—a ‘thanks’ from God that will be rewarded when He
returns. You are blessed (3:14; 4:14), and will receive praise, honor, and
glory (1:7) from Jesus Christ.[9]

[1] I
have been pursuing a pet project of looking into all the quotations, imagery,
allusions, illustrations, and references of the OT background for every verse
in the book of 1 Peter (something very similar to The New Testament’s Use of
the Old Testament by Carson and Beale). At this point I am roughly halfway
through the letter.

[2]
The life of holiness is an expression of the Christian’s identity which is
grounded in the work of the Trinity from eternity past (see 1 Pet. 1:1-13; 2:2-10).
This life is exemplified in the eschatological New Covenant age; the time of
fulfillment anticipating the Lord’s return. ‘Holiness’, as I take it, is not
conceived as being primarily moral uprightness (though certainly not less than
that), but that of being ‘other’, or ‘unique’, or ‘set-apart’ which is
reflective of the supreme attribute of God’s nature; that primary quality which
is tantamount to being “an adjective for God” (as D.A. Carson puts it);
supremely manifested through acts of love.

[4]
This is not to suggest that a Christian would do such a thing, just that
‘copy-cat’ lacks the gravity of the imitation in 1Peter.

[5] These
verses touch on a controversy regarding the audience Peter is addressing. Is he
referring to the pagan roots of Gentiles, or to the heritage of Jews under the
Law? I am persuaded of both groups, who are now one new man in Christ. (cf.
Eph. 2:11-22)

[6]
The Church can be thought of as “Eschatological Israel”, which speaks of the
expansion and fulfillment of the OT people of God

[7]
Christian ethics are grounded in the substance of the New Covenant promise of a
heart of flesh, forgiveness of sin, knowledge of God, and the presence of the
Holy Spirit (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezk. 36:26-27)

[8]
Notice Peter’s reference to the good conduct of holy people of the past (3:5-6,
20)